Overworked, But Unemployed
by dpluver
Summary: Sixteen year-old Danny Fenton needs a job. However, no place wants to hire him…except one. But will Danny screw up before they give him the job? One-shot.


**Hi all! Taking a brief break from my lengthier stories for a quick little one-shot. Just a drabble about Danny trying to get a job. Enjoy~**

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><p>"Now, Mr. Fenton, why did you get fired from your last job?"<p>

Danny cringed. He briefly wondered if "I saw ghost attacking outside and had to go stop it" would be an appropriate excuse. He quickly shot that idea down, as this would imply that he either brought weapons to work with him or he was, well, a ghost fighting vigilante of some sort.

"I-I left," he replied lamely, cowering under the interviewer's imposing stare.

"You left? As in, you quit? Or-"

"I left during my work shift."

"What was your reasoning behind this?"

Danny chewed on the edge of his lip until he tasted blood. How could he be so good at this superhero thing and such a lousy interviewee?

"I saw a ghost and got scared. So I ran away."

The interviewer didn't look convinced. "Right. While the rest of your co-workers remained behind to protect the customers?"

Having no other response ready, Danny merely nodded.

The burly man rolled his eyes and looked back down at Danny's application. "Casper High. My daughter goes there, you know. Let's see. Three years of periodic tardiness, below average grades- especially in math, and a long track record of detentions. Explain these for me, Mr. Fenton."

"I…have places to go?" Danny said, making it seem more like a question than an explanation.

Again, the man did not look impressed. He turned to the next page. "Extracurricular activities? None. What _do_ you do in your free time, Mr. Fenton?"

"I help my parents fight ghosts," he replied coolly, figuring a half truth was better than whatever lie he would've come up with.

The man chuckled. "Mr. Fenton, we all know there's only one competent ghost hunter in this town. I've never seen any humans successfully capture a ghost."

"Maybe you've just been in the wrong place at the wrong time?" Danny suggested.

He was getting sick of this. The interview was supposed to last fifteen minutes- thirty tops- and they were banking on forty-five minutes now. This was the fifth place he'd applied to, and the first that would even grant him an interview. He didn't really need_ another_ job, but figured that since he was sixteen now and needed money, this would at least pay better than his ghost fighting 'job.'

"I help my parents build inventions," Danny blurted out just as the man looked ready to toss his application into the trash. "Like this."

He pulled the Fenton thermos out of his backpack and placed it on the desk in front of him. The interviewer observed it with mild curiosity, but wasn't exactly amazed with the revelation.

"You build inventions? This is a soup canister, Mr. Fenton. I know you're applying to get a job in the fast food industry, but how will this help you here?"

"It's not for soup. It catches ghosts," Danny pointed out as the man poked and prodded the metal container. "And I believe this shows my dedication to my work because…uh, _because_ this means I can really get things done when I set my mind to the task!"

Danny knew this was a total lie, but if he was about to get kicked out anyway, it was at least worth a shot.

"In spite of your poor grades and absenteeism in both school and the workplace?"

Danny gulped. "Of course. This is a chance for me to really prove myself. I won't let you down…if you hire me," he added in a small voice.

The man stared at him with an unreadable expression. Danny attempted to smile back, but after a few seconds, he diverted his attention away to avoid awkwardness.

At long last, the man spoke. "Alright Fenton. I think we'll take a chance with you. But you _better_ not disappoint me! Understood?"

"Understood," Danny repeated, wanting to jump for joy but instead quietly remained in his seat.

"Wait right here while I get the contract for you," the man said, heading for a separate door. "Welcome to the Nasty Burger staff, Mr. Fenton."

Danny gave him a weird salute, then leaned back in his chair once the door had clicked shut. He had a job! It was at the worst place in Amity Park- not to mention the place where his evil older self killed his friends and family in an alternate timeline- but a _job!_

He was thrilled.

Until the blue mist escaped his mouth, that is.

Hearing crashes and screams outside this stuffy office, Danny swore under his breath. He closed his eyes and tried ignoring the commotion outside, but after another explosion and several more frantic screams, he realized that his other job had to come first. It didn't pay and he didn't exactly get health benefits, but his sense of justice and desire to protect the people of Amity Park overruled his personal financial needs.

Sighing to himself, Danny transformed and flew through the walls, off to confront the ghost. Through the walls, he could hear his interviewer yelling for him, but it didn't matter anymore.

The sometimes-infamous hero of Amity Park had been his job title since he was fourteen, and that wasn't about to change just because he was growing up. Sure, the unpredictability and the job description sucked- getting beaten to a pulp, broken and bruised on a daily basis, and getting attacked by his parents or Valerie after saving the day- but it was the only job he had ever known.

At least Danny felt a sense of accomplishment at the end of the day, which was more than what he would have been able to say after a day of splattering burger patties with grease and mixing sauces at the Nasty Burger.

And _that_ was the reason Danny continued to do what he had always done: protecting the people of Amity Park.

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><p><strong>Please let me know what you thought :)<strong>


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